What language is used in Supreme Court legal dictation?

The Supreme Court of India's 2024 recruitment notice sets its shorthand test in English. For Court Master (Shorthand), the eligibility line reads "Proficiency in Shorthand (English) with a speed of 120 w.p.m." ¹. The Senior Personal Assistant post also tests English ², at 110 words per minute ³, and the Personal Assistant post tests English at 100 ⁴.

This page covers India's Supreme Court, which is where the notices we checked come from. Other courts may set their own languages. The guide to legal dictation for shorthand and steno exams explains the rest of the test.

The Supreme Court's shorthand test is English for every post in the 2024 notice

The 2024 advertisement covers three posts, and each one lists shorthand in English. So a candidate for any of these posts should prepare in English. The Court Master post also has a typing test of 40 words per minute on a computer ⁵, which is separate from the shorthand test.

The language is set by the post, not by the candidate. A candidate cannot choose Hindi for the Court Master test if the notice says English.

The notice does not say what the English passage is about

The notice sets the language, speed and mistake limit. It does not describe the dictated passage. It also does not say whether the passage uses legal vocabulary. The only legal link is a separate eligibility rule: the Court Master post requires a law degree from a recognized university in India ⁶.

So the answer to "what language" is clear, but the answer to "what kind of English" is not in the notice. Legal writing has grown harder to read over time, according to a study of U.S. Supreme Court opinions ⁷. That study covers U.S. opinions, not Indian judgments, but it suggests that practice passages should be written in legal English, not general conversation.

High Court tests can be set in Hindi, and the speed can change between notices

The phrase "legal dictation for high court" covers a different set of notices. The High Court of Jharkhand's 2013 advertisement set the Hindi stenographer's shorthand at 70 words per minute ⁸. Its 2014 advertisement set the Hindi shorthand at 60 words per minute ⁹.

Two points follow. First, a High Court test may be in Hindi while the Supreme Court test is in English. Second, the same court can change its speed from one advertisement to the next, so the figure for the current notice is the only one that counts. The question on legal dictation in Hindi covers Hindi tests in more detail.

It depends on the court, the post and the notice year

The notice you need is the one for your court and post, in the year you apply. The figures above come from the Supreme Court's 2024 advertisement, which covers one recruitment cycle. A notice for another court, or for another year, may set a different language and speed.

Check three things in the notice: the language in brackets after "Shorthand" in the eligibility list, the speed in words per minute, and the transcription time. The speed page for High Court exams lists the speeds in several notices side by side.

What to do

1. Find the eligibility line for your post. Look for "Proficiency in Shorthand" and note the language in brackets.
2. Note the speed for that post. The Supreme Court's English speeds are 120, 110 and 100 words per minute ^{1 3 4}.
3. Practice in the language of the notice. An English test needs English audio, and a Hindi test needs Hindi audio, at the same speed.
4. Practice shorthand and typing together. The Court Master post has both a shorthand test and a typing test, so plan for both.

For a short definition of the test, see what legal dictation is. For the outline method that helps with repeated legal phrases, see legal dictation shorthand outlines. The glossary entry on shorthand explains the systems most candidates use.